Paint mixer



June 16, 1942. c, KELLY ETAL 2,286,913

PAINT MIXER Filed Sept. 25, 19:59

3 '5" 6/56 9 L Ear/17.57021 ATTORNEY Patented June 16, 1942 UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE PAINT MIXER John C. Kelly and Earl R. Brazie,Owosso, lVIich. Application September 25, 1939, Serial No. 296,382

4 Claims.

' This invention relates to paint mixers by means of which paint orother materials may be agitated and the ingredients thereof thoroughlymixed together.

One of the prime objects of the invention is to design a power drivenpaint mixer, which can be mounted on a standard paint can or container,and provide flexible means on the agitator shaft for easily-and quicklymixing the can contents so that the paint will be of the properconsistency with the ingredients thoroughly mixed together.

Another object is to design a motor mounting of size, shape andmaterialto snugly fit the can opening after the cover has been removed, thusforming a motor support as well as a closure for the container.

A further object is to provide a readily portable mixer which fits cansor containers of standard size, which can be readily connected to thehouse wiring system or other source of power, and which can be easilyand economically manufactured and assembled.

- A still further object is to design a motor driven mixer provided withflexible agitating means, so that the mixing operation will be even,gradual, and thorough.

A further object still is to provide a pail holder including a frame andquickly detachable resilient means for securing the mixing mechanism inposition on the paint container.

With the above and other objects in view, the present invention consistsin the combination and arrangement of parts, hereinafter more fullydescribed, illustrated in the accompanying drawing, and moreparticularly pointed out in the appended claims, it being understoodthat changes may be made in the form, size, and minor details ofconstruction without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of theadvantages of the invention.

In the drawing:

Fig. l is a sectional side elevational view of a paint container showingour paint mixer mounted thereon, the broken lines showing smallerstandard size containers and the motor and mixing mechanism in raisedposition.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional top plan view taken on the line 3-3 ofFig. 1.

Fig. 4 is an end View showing the manner of connecting the agitator tothe shaft.

Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the pail frame.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing, the numeral 8 indicatesa paint can of standard size, such as stocked by hardware and 55 paintstores in general, and when these cans or containers are placed'on theshelves or in a warehouse for a period of time, the pigments andingredients settle on the bottom and form a heavy mass of thickconsistency.

In order that the paint may properly spread, (when applied, and givemaximum wear after application) it is necessary that the various ingredients be thoroughly mixed before application, because paint properlymixed is more easily and evenly applied, all of the paint can be used,and it effectively covers more surface with better results.

The container 8 is formed with an enlarged opening 9, normally closed bymeans of a cover, (not shown) and this cover is readily removable formixing and removal of the paint as desired.

A'cover plate I0 forms a part of the mixing mechanism and is formed witha plurality of spaced apart, flanged sections II, which are shaped tosnugly fit the beaded rim [2, which surrounds the opening 9 in thecontainer, and this plate in reality forms a substitute for theconventional cover, closely fitting the beaded rim l2 in exactly thesame manner, and while in the present instance we have shown this coverplate in the form of a single casting, it will be clearly understoodthat the cover can be made of a plurality of flanged sections if sodesired.

-A motor [3 is slidably mounted on this cover plate [0 and is providedwith a handle M to facilitate handling, wires l5 leading to a suitablesource of electrical energy. A metal band [6 embraces the motor l3 andincludes a pair of laterally projecting arms I! terminating in bearingsl8 which slidably engage the vertical guides l9 provided on the coverplate I 0, a suitable head 20 being provided on each guide and forms astop for limiting the upward travel of the motor.

A coupling 2| is provided on the one end of the motor shaft as shown,and one end of an agitator shaft 22 is detachably secured thereto bymeans of a set screw 23, said shaft projecting through a stufling box 24provided on the cover, and a transversely disposed coiled spring 25 isclamped to the lower end of the agitator shaft by means of the clamp 26,and this clamp is in turn secured to the agitator shaft 22 by means ofrivets 21, or in any other approved manner.

One or more fins 28 extend radially from the shaft 22 and serve toagitate the body of the paint while the plastic mass is being graduallyWorked by the agitator, and it will be obvious that when the agitator isfirst inserted in the container, that the end sections of the spring 25will be bowed upwardly from the center by the plastic mass which hascollected on the bottom of the can, and as the agitator is driven, thisspring will wear and progressively loosen the accumulated mass until theentire can content is of an even consistency. There can be no snaggingor forcing of the spring into the mass prematurely, and the flexibilityand multiplicity of edges presented by the spring insures a smooth,gradual mix in which there will be no lumps or unmixed pigments.

A frame or spider 29 forms a support for the paint pail, and is formedwith radiating arms 30, the ends of which are upwardly turned as at 3|,and coil springs 32 are anchored to two of these arms, a predeterminedlength of small chain 33 being attached to the free ends of the springs,and are adapted to detachably engage projecting lugs 34 provided on thecover plate In, T-shaped openings 35 being provided in the ends of thearms 30, and accommodate the links of the chain 33 for securing thecover in position on the container.

After the mixing mechanism has been mounted on the pail and the chainssecured to hold it in position, the agitator mechanism, and moreparticularly, the coil spring 25 will rest on the plastic mass in thebottom of the pail, then as the motor is driven, this spring graduallyeats its way into the mass, agitating and mixing the pigments until thepail contents are of a smooth even consistancy, and We wish todirectparticular attention to the fact that the spring is freely flexible inevery direction, topermit bending,

stretching, etc. It can also wrap itself around i the shaft or whip inany direction.

Smaller size containers B and C respectively are shown in broken linesin Fig. 1 of the drawing and the cover plate In is formed with flangedrims II which snugly fit thereon.

When desiring to mix a can of paint, the can is first placed on theframe 29, the cover plate is placed in position on the can, and thechains 33 are attached. The motor 13 is, of course, in raised positionwith the agitator spring 25 resting on the thick plastic mass; then asthe mixing progresses, the motor moves downwardly on the guides H] asthe mass is mixed until it bears against the bottom of the pail, atwhich time the paint will be thoroughly and evenly mixed. The mechanismis easily controlled by grasping the handle [4 and the entire mass canbe treated by raising and/or lowering the motor accordingly.

From the foregoing description, it will be obvious that we haveperfected a very simple, practical and effective power operated paintmixer, which can be mounted directly on the paint container, and bymeans of which the paint can be easily and thoroughly mixed.

What we claim is:

1. The combination with a receptacle cover supporting a motor foragitating material within a receptacle on which the cover is disposed,of means for preventing displacement of said cover, said meanscomprising a member engaging the bottom of the receptacle, arms carriedby said member and extending beyond the periphery of the receptacle,arms carried by the cover and extending beyond the periphery of thereceptacle and provided with T-shaped openings therein and relativelyshort contractible spring members connected to the arms of the bodymember, and chains secured to the free ends of the springs fordetachably engaging the T-shaped openings in thecover arms forconnecting the arms of the cover and the arms of the member engaging thebottom of the receptacle and forcing said cover to closed position.

2. A device as set forth in claim 1 in which the arms carried bythemember engage the bottom of the receptacle and extend outwardly andupwardly into engagement with the periphery of the receptacle in radialangles other than the planes of the contractible spring members.

3. A rotating agitating device adapted to be traversed axiallydownwardly into a receptacle having partially solidified material in thebottom thereof, means for traversing said device, said device includinga shaft, said shaft being provided with outwardly extendingnormallystraight flexible coiled agitator spring arms, said spring arms havingtheir inner ends anchored to the shaft and their outer ends free,whereby the arms will be flexed to a curved position when they engagethe partially solidified material and will gradually dislodge thematerial from a point adjacent the shaft outwardly and the arms willstraighten out as the dislodging continues.

4. A device as set forth in claim 3 wherein the spring arms at eitherside of the shaft are formed from a continued coiled spring anchoredintermediate its length.

JOHN C. KELLY. EARL R. BRAZIE.

